For much of 2024, sales of electric models grew modestly as consumers fretted about their prices - EVs are somewhat more expensive than comparable gas-powered vehicles - and the challenges of charging while on the go.Automakers closed 2024 with strong sales in the United States in the final three months of the year, helped by a surge in demand for electric models.
The gains were led by General Motors, which said Friday that its fourth-quarter sales rose 21% from a year earlier, to more than 755,000 cars and light trucks. Its electric vehicle sales in the quarter more than doubled, to nearly 44,000, making GM the second-largest EV seller after Tesla.
Ford Motor sold more than 530,000 vehicles in the quarter, a gain of nearly 9%. Ford's EV sales climbed 16%, to more than 30,000 vehicles.
Honda Motor reported a gain of 9% in the fourth quarter, while Hyundai and Nissan each said their sales climbed 10%.
Not every company came out ahead. Toyota posted a 3% decline in quarterly sales, while Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Chrysler and Ram vehicles, reported its sales fell 7%.
Cox Automotive, a market researcher, said it expected auto sales to grow 2.8% this year, to 16.3 million cars and trucks. Jonathan Smoke, Cox's chief economist, said consumer sentiment, wages and other economic factors were adding to demand.
"Wages are growing. Vehicle incentives have risen. Loan approve rates are up," he said. "As we enter 2025, momentum is back on our side."
For much of 2024, sales of electric models grew modestly as consumers fretted about their prices - EVs are somewhat more expensive than comparable gas-powered vehicles - and the challenges of charging while on the go.
But in the fourth quarter, sales of EVs jumped about 12%, Cox said, to 356,000 vehicles, helped by lower interest rates and sweetened incentives and discount plans.
Analysts said the year-end jump in EV sales might also have been spurred somewhat by President-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested he will eliminate a USD 7,500 federal tax credit on electric vehicles priced under USD 80,000. The tax credit has helped manufacturers offer attractive lease deals.
"The incentives on EVs have been really good, but there may also have been some awareness among consumers that the tax credit could go away, and that may have helped bring people into the market," said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, another auto industry researcher.
